Former Canadian prime minister John Diefenbaker once commented that polls were for dogs.

He was right except for all the parts where he was wrong.

Polling, or surveys, are imprecise because there are just too many human variables at play to provide any one with an exact picture of how a political campaign is going for the candidates involved.

That said, despite those imperfections, information is still information, and it’s how one deciphers it, or interprets it that gives sometimes chaotic information some meaning.

It sort of reminds me a little bit of the emergence of radar back in World War II.  In the early days it was extremely spotty and imprecise, and often produced false returns easily misunderstood as meaning something else.  But it was still better than having no radar at all.

I’m going to see what happens if I launch a pre-election poll canvassing the level of candidate support in the Renfrew municipal election scheduled for October 26th.

I’m anticipating some messiness, that is if people even bother to take the poll at all.  And again, there will be so many variables to consider since people are people and you never really know if all of them are going to approach the same task with he same level of integrity.

So I’m going to label it a Reader Poll, that way making sure that everyone knows that I’m not necessarily going to extrapolate the results as having any direct bearing on election day.  And as well, I’m not exactly going to make a big deal out of anything it produces because it’s obviously going to be one of the least scientific polls one can manufacture and execute.

For one thing, the numbers will be problematic, as in I don’t have any.  How many people do I need to participate to make this a worthwhile effort?  How many responses will make it worthwhile for me to analyze and report the data?  I don’t have a huge following on my site, or blog, to begin with, but nevertheless, I’m resolved to at least make the effort and see what it comes back like.

But I do know that if I don’t do it, I’ll never know how it might have worked out.

I’ll have a link to the poll situated at the top of each morning post going forward.

I’m hoping everyone plays nice and takes the survey precisely once.

THE RACE FOR MAYOR

THE RACE FOR COUNCIL

PART 3:  THE NEWCOMERS

Of the ten candidates in the contest to secure six council seats later this month, three of them are political newcomers, at least as it involves running for public office.

Hayley Heaslip, Scott Miller, and Bruce Rozycki are their names, and all three carry with them substance and presence.

In fact, any one of, or all three of these candidates has/have a real shot at success, and if so, that’s going to put pressure on a couple of incumbents perhaps.

Continue reading “THE NEWCOMERS” →

PART 2:  THE BEEN THERE AND DONE THATS

The next cadre of candidates seeking election as councillor are three veterans, two having been previously elected as councillor, one a previous mayor, one an unsuccessful candidate for mayor, and a third who was a department head who also took a crack at council in 2022 but came up short.

In other words, all three of these candidates were candidates back in the 2022 election, two going down in the mayor’s race and the third unsuccessful as a candidate for councillor.

All three have name recognition.  They are Sandi Heins, Kate Windle, and Guy Longtin.

Continue reading “BEEN THERE. DONE THAT.” →

Every member of the 2022-2026 Renfrew Town Council is running again for office later this month.  Five of them are running for the jobs they currently hold, while two others take a crack at the mayor position challenging the current incumbent Tom Sidney.

On the councillor side itself, the four incumbents seeking to retain their place at the table are joined by six challengers, some of whom hold previous elected council experience, and others who have made marks for themselves in the private sector.

This is the manner in which I intend to observe these ten candidates for councillor, as either incumbents, as previous members, our as newcomers to municipal politics.

Continue reading “THE INCUMBENTS” →

On October 26th of this month, voters in Renfrew will turn out — we hope — to support a number of the ten people standing as candidates for Renfrew Town Council as councillors.

I say we hope because back in 2022, only forty-some percent of eligible voters bothered to turn up and scratch an X out for a candidate.  If some candidate were ever to address this by aggressively and actively going after a chunk of that un-mapped potential, it could very well be a difference maker.

Let me correct myself.  It will be a difference maker.

Continue reading “THE RACE FOR COUNCIL.” →

There are four men in the running to be Renfrew’s next mayor, one an incumbent mayor and three challengers.  Actually there’s a total of five challengers, but I’ve gone ahead and ruled two of them out with the belief that, aside from pulling a hundred votes or so, aren’t really in the legitimate mix for the mayor’s chair.

Tom Sidney is the current mayor and he’s running again.  Looking to unseat him are current reeve Peter Emon, current councillor Jason Legris, and former councillor and past mayoral candidate Michael Coulas, a local businessman and real estate guy.  These are my Big Four, in that one of these fellows will end up on top, but all four have what I believe to be legitimate paths to get to the top of the polls later this month.

Continue reading “THE BIG FOUR” →

Elections for mayor will often bring out a number of candidates, and the 2026 municipal election appears to be no different with no fewer than six people vying for the job that comes with an impressive chain of office and the title of “Your Worship.”

Being the mayor of Renfrew can’t be an easy thing, and looking at perhaps the past twenty years or so, it seems every occupant of that chair has made it look like it’s an exceedingly difficult proposition.

Continue reading “THE RACE FOR MAYOR” →

No two elections are really going to be the same every time out.  Candidates come and go, older ones aging out and newer ones just cutting their teeth.

But there are also third parties that make every trip to the polls something different.  These third parties can range from political junkies — perhaps that’s me — as well as vested interests of various sorts. And people who want to play the role of spoiler or disrupter.  All kinds come out during election season.

Continue reading “THE BELANGER FACTOR” →